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1816IIHF News from www.iifh.comTYPO3 - get.content.righthttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssTue, 31 Mar 2015 23:03:00 +0200Challenge Cup of Asia growshttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=9102
Tournaments in Taipei, Kuwait; premiere for Oman The three tournaments are in particular aimed at Asian countries that don’t yet fulfil the minimum participation standards for the World Championship program but can compete with each other at regional tournaments with participants from the Middle East and Far East.

On the men’s side defending champion Chinese Taipei will host the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia in Taipei City, 14-19 March 2015, with the United Arab Emirates, Mongolia, Thailand and recently promoted Macau as the other participants.

The Division I event that will be held in Kuwait City, 18-24 April 2015, will grow to up to six teams with the men’s national teams from Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, India, Malaysia and Oman intending to participate. For Oman, who became IIHF member in 2014, it will be the first participation in an IIHF event.

Taipei City will also host the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's Challenge Cup of Asia Division I from 6th to 8th November. The other two participants are Hong Kong and Thailand.

Together with the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship Division III Group A from 22nd to 28th March 2015 it will be three IIHF events to take place in Chinese Taipei.]]>on topIIHFChinese TaipeiHong KongIndia MacauMalaysiaMongoliaSingaporeThailandTue, 09 Sep 2014 10:59:00 +0200Victory in the deserthttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=8632
Chinese Taipei wins 2014 Challenge Cup of AsiaClick here for scores, stats, and photos

The victory in the round-robin tournament marks the second straight Challenge Cup of Asia championship won by Taipei, and third overall passing the United Arab Emirates.

The United Arab Emirates, who played well and won tough games against Thailand (5-4 in overtime) and Mongolia (3-1 to claim second place), met Taipei on 20 March. After scoring the opening goal courtesy of Suhail Al Mehairi on the power play, the Emirati were unable to sustain any offensive pressure and gave up three straight goals to Chinese Taipei, ultimately losing 5-2.

Chinese Taipei’s offence was humming throughout the tournament, driven by an strong performance from Lu and Weng, who together combined for an impressive 23 goals in five games. Lu won the 2014 scoring title with eleven goals and eleven assists for 22 points, while Weng placed second with 17 points (12+5).

Weng and defenceman Yeng-Li Sheng earned Directorate awards for Top Forward and Top Defenceman respectively. Veteran Emirati goalie Khaled Al Suwaidi registered a 90.91 save percentage and was selected as the tournament’s top goaltender. Thailand iced a younger squad than in past years but played very well starting with a 2-1 shootout victory over Hong Kong that helped it to place fourth overall.

Mongolia opened the Challenge Cup with a tough 10-3 loss to Taipei but recovered with wins over Hong Kong, Kuwait, and Thailand before narrowly missing out on a second place finish after a 3-1 loss to UAE in the final game.

Kuwait went winless in the tournament and will be relegated to the Division I group for next year, as Macau moves up to take its place in 2015.

During the Challenge Cup a special meeting with all the IIHF Gulf Countries was held with IIHF Vice President Thomas J. Wu and Harry Springfeld.

“There is a lot of potential in the Gulf region and we will do our best to work with all Gulf Countries together and to find out synergies for further development,” said Wu. “Everybody wants to develop which is very positive. At the same time we need also a new and creative way of thinking to accommodate the demand and further development initiatives in the Gulf Region as well as in whole Asia.”

“There is development noticeable and we see more and more competitive games as well as improvement on player development which is positive," said IIHF Asian Project Manager Harald Springfeld.

"However the Challenge Cup of Asia tournaments are only the showcase for our hockey on an international platform, while behind the scenes we’re working with each association individually and according the IIHF Asian Office National Association Assistance Program on their domestic development areas such as coaching and officiating, to create a sustainable future for hockey in Asia.”

Naturally development had the highest priority in the meetings and the Asian Group’s targets were set in close co-operation with the IIHF Development & Coaching Committee. Last year’s successfully implemented Coaching and Officiating Education series for instructors will be extended for the duration of four years with the goal of building up a special instructor pool for national associations.

In the U18 category the focus will move towards more development after the evaluation of the U18 Challenge Cup of Asia events. It is planned to organize a U18 Development Camp in Chinese Taipei in the upcoming season.

As the youngsters are the future, the Asian Strategic Planning Group wants to offer these athletes opportunities to collect international experience that they can share amongst each other back home. This kind of model can be very successful and leadership seminars for coaching and officiating will be part of the camp.

Challenge Cup of Asia restructured

With 10 teams participating in last year’s Challenge Cup of Asia in Thailand, the number of participating teams in this category has reached its all-time high. For next season the men’s category will be played in two divisions at two separate venues similar to the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship program.

This will give teams the opportunity to have more quality games, make hosting the event more practical and ensure the development at the same time.

After each season the bottom-ranked team from the top division will be relegated to Division I and the Division I winner will move up to the top level.

The top division will be organized in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and the Division I tournament will be played in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, which will participate in the event for the first time.

The Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia will grow significantly to eight teams split into two divisions. Some of the top Asian countries together with Australia for the first time will play in Harbin while a Division I event will be played with new countries in international women’s ice hockey including Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and host Hong Kong.

“All in all it was a successful meeting with the goal of bringing Asian countries closer to the level of hockey in Europe,” said IIHF Asian Sport Development Manager Harry Springfeld. “Having a very healthy, development-oriented and structured system will be the key for success.”

]]>on leftIIHFChinese TaipeiHong KongMongoliaThailandKuwaitUnited Arab EmiratesKyrgyzstanIndia Tue, 27 Aug 2013 18:07:00 +0200Chinese Taipei wins in Bangkokhttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=7619
Third Challenge Cup of Asia title after 2008 and 2010After improving in the U18 World Championship program where the country hosted the Division III Group A tournament recently, fourth-seeded Chinese Taipei managed to get back to the top amongst the nations that participate in the Challenge Cup of Asia.

The team, coached by a Hungarian duo, Kristof Kovago and Zoltan Kozma, finished the tournament with a clean 7-0 record and shone both offensively with To Weng as the tournament’s top goal scorer with 11 markers, and in the defensive department where both goalkeepers, Pang-Keng Ting and Yu-Cheng Liao, had save percentages of over 93%.

Chinese Taipei defeated Kuwait (13-1), the United Arab Emirates (2-1 OT), host Thailand (7-2) and Malaysia (9-1) in the Preliminary Round. In the quarter-finals they blanked Macau 11-0 and steamrolled Kuwait 21-0 before facing Hong Kong in the final.

Hong Kong had to start in the lower-tiered Group B after missing last year’s tournament. After putting up high scores over Singapore, India, Macau and Mongolia, the Hong Kongers eliminated defending champion United Arab Emirates in a 6-3 quarter-final win. Alvin Sham and Jasper Tang scored an early 2-0 lead after just two minutes of play from which the Emirati didn’t fully recover. In another tight contest, Hong Kong defeated Mongolia 4-3 in the semi-finals thanks to Tang’s game-winning goal with eight minutes left in regulation time.

In another evenly-matched contest, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong faced each other for gold on Sunday night before 545 spectators at the full-size ice rink on the seventh floor of a shopping mall.

Chinese Taipei had the better start and Hung-Ju Lin opened the scoring at 13:24 of the first period, but John Fu tied it up for Hong Kong 90 seconds after the start of the middle frame.

The Taiwanese stroke back shortly after when Chang-Hsing Yang and Yen-Chin Shen capitalized on two power plays midway through the game.

Jordan Sun Yin Ho cut the deficit to just one goal when Hong Kong had a man advantage early in the third period, but Kai-Hsiang Chang’s 4-2 goal sealed the win for Chinese Taipei.

Mongolia claimed third place in the tournament after defeating Kuwait 11-0 in the placement game. The Mongolians had a fairy-tale finish. With the season over and no indoor ice rink available in the country, the Mongolians had a difficult start but improved throughout the tournament. They only lost two games – both against Hong Kong – but surprised with a 5-4 victory over host Thailand in the quarter-finals to reach the semi-finals and the bronze medal game.

Thailand had played a strong tournament and outshot Mongolia 45-18 in the quarter-final encounter, but 24-year-old forward Neguun Ganbat scored two early goals for Mongolia en route to the win. Thailand only had the lead during three minutes in the last period when Anon Rattanachot scored the 4-3 goal for the Thai, but Mongolia reacted with a shorthanded marker from Bayarsalkhan Jargalsaikhan and at 12:02 it was Munkhzaya Enkhtur, who netted the game-winning goal.

Kuwait had to settle for fourth place after losing the third-place to Mongolia followed by Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Macau, Singapore and India.

Singapore returned after a two-year hiatus and managed to win its only game against India, 13-4.

India suffered a setback after its first-ever international win last year when they defeated Macau 5-1 on home ice in Dehradun. This year it was more difficult for the players from the foot of the Himalayas. With the season over and the only indoor ice rink disused, the Indians had trouble keeping up with their opponents and Macau gained revenge in a 9-1 victory as India finished the tournament with a 0-4 record.

The event included ten teams that played 28 games in nine days. The top-notch teams at the tournament became stronger and might be able to reach the level to challenge Division III nations from other continents in the not too distant future.

“We were able to witness that the teams made a step forward compared to last year,” said IIHF Asian Sport Development Manager Harry Springfeld. “The players played with heart and soul. We saw competitive games and had good discussions about our development programs where we hope to take another step forward since Asia is where the growth is.”

The tournament was also used to improve the level of officiating in Asian countries. For the second straight year, only Asian referees and linesmen were called to the tournament.

Among the guests that paid a visit to the tournament was the Japanese organizing committee for the 2017 Asian Winter Games and IIHF President René Fasel.

“Asian hockey has a future and we try hard with our members to create a good environment for them,” Fasel said.

Having ten teams at the event was a record for the tournament that doesn’t include the established national teams that participate in the World Championship program such as Kazakhstan, Japan, Korea, China and DPR Korea.

“It was not an easy task to organize and event with that many teams, but we managed to do it altogether. My thank goes to all the participants and especially to the Ice Hockey Association of Thailand, which organized this event with us,” said IIHF Vice President Thomas Wu.

“Now we need to evaluate this tournament to decide about the next step at the next Asian Strategic Planning Group meetings in May.”

]]>on topWorldsMenChinese TaipeiHong KongMongoliaKuwaitThailandUnited Arab EmiratesMalaysiaMon, 25 Mar 2013 14:29:00 +0100Asian festival in Bangkokhttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=7608
Ten teams compete in first IIHF tournament in ThailandThe tournament doesn’t include the pinnacle of Asian hockey with national teams like Japan, Korea or China but is designed for Asian nations where hockey is in a developing stage that compete either in the lowest tier of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship program or don’t take part in World Championship events right now.

The United Arab Emirates won the tournament last year in Dehradun, India (stories, videos) and enter the tournament as the defending champions. The Emirates also qualified for the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III that will be played next month in Cape Town, South Africa.

Host Thailand is probably the closest nation that could potentially fulfil the criteria to play in the World Championship program in the near future and will be more than motivated to challenge the Emirates again.

In last year’s tournament the Thai won all but two games – a 4-3 loss in the preliminary round and a 3-0 defeat in the gold medal game, both times against the Emirati.

For Thailand it will also be a milestone since it will be the first-ever IIHF tournament to be hosted in the country. Games will take place at The Rink Ice Arena, which is located on the top floor of the seven-storey shopping mall Central Plaza Grand Rama 9 and has an international-size ice sheet.

This year’s Challenge Cup of Asia includes ten teams that are split between two tiers, but all participants have a chance to end up hoisting the trophy. The five teams from Group A and the best three teams from Group B will make it to the quarter-finals.

Apart from the UAE and Thailand, Group A also includes Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and Kuwait.

Malaysia claimed third place last year after defeating Kuwait 5-3 in the placement game. The Kuwaiti will again play in the upper tier as the second nation from the Gulf Region beside the Emirates.

Chinese Taipei won the tournament in 2008 and on home ice in 2010. Busy hosting the U18 World Championship Division III Group A in Taipei City right now, the association hopes to see their men’s national team get back to past glory in this competition.

India and Macau return to the event in Group B. India won its first international game last year 5-1 against Macau after having started international ice hockey with a 0-12 record. Although ice hockey is not widespread in this huge country, the sport is very popular in the northern region of Ladakh where most players come from.

Defending fifth place won’t be easy for the Indians since three teams are making a comeback after having missed the Challenge Cup of Asia last year. Mongolia shares the Indians’ passion for outdoor hockey in freezing weather conditions while Hong Kong is back after a one-year hiatus and winning the event in 2011 when it was held in Kuwait.

Singapore also stages a comeback in the Challenge Cup of Asia after having missed the last two events. With a new rink opened in the country, the team hopes to convert better preparation in its new facility to improvement in the Asian competition.

“With ten participating teams the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia will reach its all-time high but this also brings its challenges with it,” says IIHF Vice President Thomas Wu. “In the next Asian Strategic Planning Group Meeting we will discuss how to structure the Challenge Cup of Asia tournaments in future.”

The event includes 28 games that will be played over nine days and 280 people will be active on the ice or in the organization.

The tournament is not only about increasing the level of play in Asian countries but also officials. 16 referees and linesmen were called to the tournament in Bangkok coming from eight different Asian countries.

“A tournament of this size brings its own challenges with it, especially in the logistical area,” says IIHF Asian Sport Development Manager Harry Springfeld shortly before the first puck drop. “We are very happy to have a good team with a lot of heart and enthusiasm here to put the puzzle together.”

The tournament opens with Mongolia vs. India. Singapore-Macau will be the other game in Group B on Saturday. Malaysia will face defending champion United Arab Emirates in the early game of Group A before host Thailand will play Kuwait.

The Preliminary Round runs from Saturday until Thursday. The Final Round with quarter-finals, semi-finals and placement games will start next Friday.

Scores, statistics and photos will be published here following the games.

MARTIN MERK]]>on topWorldsMenChinese TaipeiHong KongMacauSingaporeMongoliaThailandUnited Arab EmiratesSat, 16 Mar 2013 09:11:00 +0100UAE wins Gulf Cuphttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=7036
Emirati defeat Kuwait in final; Oman thirdThe tournament was staged for the second time after the 2010 edition in Kuwait and also involved selections from Bahrain and Oman.

Juma Al Daheri was the hero for the host nation at the Zayed Sports City ice rink in Abu Dhabi with a pair of goals.

“It was a sweet victory because it was achieved against a good team,” Al Daheri told the Gulf News. “Anything could have happened in the match because Kuwait has improved greatly in the past two months. I am happy to say that they will have a glorious future in the region and the continent.”

Already in the preliminary round it was a tight and heated clash between the teams as the Emirates needed a shootout to defeat Kuwait 3-2.

The Kuwaiti improved their program with the recommendations from the IIHF in a similar way the UAE did before by founding a national league and youth development programs for about 100 boys and 50 girls.

The United Arab Emirates had easier wins against Oman, 8-1, and Bahrain, 15-0. But Al Daheri also praises these teams.

“I am happy to see the determination and keenness of the youngsters in other teams, especially in Oman and Bahrain, trying to do their best despite the big differences between them and those of the UAE and Kuwait,” he said. “I believe they will learn fast and progress.”

For the UAE it’s the second tournament win this season after succeeding in the 2012 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia in India.

Oman won its first-ever international game in a 3-1 victory over Bahrain for third place in the tournament. The country has two teams with Omani players and an expat team with players from Canada and Europe.

“We are happy and excited. It was only our second participation in a tournament outside of Oman and we will return with a medal,” said Jehad Al Shaikh, the head of Oman’s delegation. “This will surely help us in our quest to establish an official body for the sport in our country upon return.”

For the winning Emiratis, the season is over now and their Belarusian coach Yuri Faikov will start the preparation for next season after Ramadan in September. It will be the season the men’s national team returns to the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship program by hosting the Division III Qualification in Abu Dhabi. And for the first time ever, an Emirati U20 national team will compete.

The first match of the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia semi-final qualification figured to be a one-sided clash between Malaysia, winners of Group B, and the lowest seeded team from Group A, Chinese Taipei. But a surprise effort from Taipei, particularly goaltender Nin-Ya Yang, kept the Malaysians at bay through the opening minutes of the game.

Unfortunately for Yang, his effort was matched at the other end by a 22-save shutout performance from Tengku Muhd Azlly Tengku Abdillah.

Taipei managed to beark down the Malaysian offence with smart checks and good positioning. The shots were the closest so far in the Tournament, 22 to 27 for Malaysia, and was also one of the more physical so far. Taipei played their best game yet, but just did not manage to end the puck in the net.

The two goalkeepers were chosen the most valuable players for the teams, and were recognized with applause and recognition from the fans at Dehradun arena after the game.

At the end, Malaysia did win, but not as easily as many expected. Goals from captain Khia Peng Tan, Seng Chee Khoo, and Edmond Ng Eng Kuan gave the team enough to advance. Malaysia is to meet United Arab Emirates in the semifinals tomorrow.

Kuwait – India 13 – 2 (4-1, 4-1, 5-0)

Going up against tournament heavyweights Kuwait, India saw their 2012 Challenge Cup of Asia campaign come to a rough end with a 13-2 loss.

Kuwait outshot the Indians 75-10, and scored at least four goals in each period to seal the rout. Defenceman Meshal Al Ajmi scored five goals, and forward Salem Al Ajmi had three more and earned Best Player honours. With the victory, Kuwait will face Thailand in the second semi-final on Saturday.

Although the team was unceremoniously bounced out from the tournament, India can look at their 2012 campaign as a sign of real progress in their hockey program. The national team won its first ever game in an international tournament, by scoring a team record five goals in front of local fans. While Kuwait joined the Tournament to fight for a high ranking and medal, India was playing for different reasons. The primary goal for the host was to raise ice hockey acknowledgement of the sport, and show that the game is played and available. This they managed very well, generating positive publicity and drawing a steady number of spectators to Dehradun arena for the games.

Consequently, there were no sad Indian faces on the ice after the game. The team knew that they had accomplished what they set initially to do, raise ice hockey awareness and spread the word of the game. They had brought the game to a new city in Dehradun, and showed India can compete at an international level.

The third day of the 2012 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia Tournament began with a game and Kuwait and United Arab Emirates. The UAE took advantage of early lapses from the Kuwaitis, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first period en route to a 6-0 win.

The UAE’s Saeed Alnuaimi got his team rolling by potting its three opening goals, recording a hat trick in just one period. Alnuaimi’s first three goals set Kuwait off-balance and the Emirati took advantage and added another for a 4-0 lead from Ali Alsarour. They would add a short handed marker from Suhail Almehairi and another score from captain Juma Aldhaheri to seal the game.

With two wins in their opening two games, the UAE look like a well-drilled team with good chemistry going ahead in this tournament. On the other side, while the Kuwaiti team showed flashes of individual skill, they just couldn’t find the back of the net and keep pace with the score. Kuwait will play Thailand next, while UAE takes on Chinese Taipei.

Malaysia vs. India 13-2 (6-2, 3-0, 4-0)

DEHRADUN – A 13-2 loss to Malaysia dropped hosts India to 0-2 in the 2012 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia. The Malaysian team buried their opponent early with a six-goal outburst in the first period. Forward Ban Kin Loke had six goals as Malaysia improved to 2-0 in the round-robin.

The second game of the third day of the 2012 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia gathered the most spectators so far to the Tournament, when the local team met Malaysia. The tribune filled with local school students, young adults and families. Even thought Malaysia had better odds going to the game, India stood strong and fought hard. A very strong competitive first period was opened with a goal scored by India, but also woke up the Malaysians who began pouring in the shots, eventually outshooting India 55-15.

India takes on Macau next, before facing Malaysia once more in their final round robin game. Despite the loss, the Indians have managed to improve their goal differential in only their second ever international tournament, managing only two goals in five games in last year's Challenge Cup.

Thailand vs. Chinese Taipei 14-0 (2-0, 6-0, 6-0)

DEHRADUN – Thanks to a deluge of shot on net, Thailand managed to overwhelm Chinese Taipei and bottle up their attack, winning their second game 14-0. Tewin Chertsuwan had 5 goals and one assist in the game to put him among the early Challenge Cup scoring leaders.

With just under four minutes left in the first period the Dehradun rink lights went off, causing a delay, with the remaining time added to the second period.

Chinese Taipei will take on the undefeated United Arab Emirates, while Thailand will play against Kuwait.

DEHRADUN – On the second day of the 2012 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia the fans in Dehradun saw Kuwait starting into the tournament with a 12-2 victory against Chinese Taipei.

Even though the first few minutes were tied, with close fights for the puck and space, Kuwait became more and more dominant as time went on.

The players from the emirate had more than twice as many shots on goal than the team from the Far East.

Even when Chinese Taipei had two-man advantages, most attacks were smartly stopped by the Kuwaitis.

Kuwait’s 12-2 crushing gives the team a steady goal difference to have, which might come in handy as the round-robin games progress.

Chinese Taipei did have good breakaways and situations, but they were well handled by the defence and Kuwait goalkeeper Al Sarraf. As the margin grew, the Kuwaitis became more and more confident, leading the opponent to losing its patience.

Macau vs. Malaysia 1-8 (0-1, 1-5, 0-2)

DEHRADUN – The second game on the second day was played between Malaysia and Macau. Malaysia has high expectations for the tournament. The team came out with slightly mixed line-ups, trying to balance the team strength.

They started to play an aggressive and strong game, with lot of skating and offensive action. They tried to exhaust the Macau players as early as possible.

With five players short compared to Malaysia, Macau was forced to defend, which they did very well on several occasions. Malaysia played strongly throughout the game with a telling 44-6 shot-on-goal advantage.

Macau fought bravely, forcing the Malaysians to shoot from any position. With 36 saves Lou Ki was named the best player for team Macau, which he undoubtedly deserved, getting a big recognition from the Malaysians as well.